Elmsford, NY -- For over six years Chipper the cat has been waiting for a home to call his own. Six years of watching other younger, cuter cats and kittens get adopted. Six years in a shelter, hoping that each person looking in on him will take him home. Chipper was relinquished to Elmsford Animal Shelter, a No Kill shelter, when he was just three and a half years old. He is now almost ten and still looking for his forever home. For his first four years in the shelter, Chipper lived in a cat kennel, a cage big enough to include a litter box, a cat bed, a food and water bowl, and not much more. He was able to leave at least once a day for exercise and socialization, but spent most of his time in his cage.
Chipper has been waiting for a home for so long that he’s witnessed the shelter on the verge of bankruptcy and closing its doors. Fortunately for Chipper and all of the other animals, there was a rescuer for the rescue. When Pets Alive Westchester officially took over Elmsford Animal Shelter a year ago last June, it transformed it into an Animal Rescue Center.
Marcy Rydd, who is in charge of community relations, describes the transformation from animal shelter to animal rescue center, “When we came in Chipper was one of 700 cats living in cages. [The cats] are now all in free-roaming cat rooms. We also have a feral colony [because when] we took them all out of cages, we found ... some were feral or semi-feral. We took those and built structures for them.”
Pets Alive Westchester also started finding homes for these cats, many of which had been in the shelter for years and were now seniors. A year after Elmsford Animal Shelter transformed into Pets Alive Westchester, many of the cats have found new, loving homes. There are now only around 200 cats left in the animal rescue center. Unfortunately for him, Chipper is one of the cats that still has not found his forever home.
Chipper is a beautiful, neutered grey cat with a white spot on his chest. He is described by volunteer Daniela as “a very loving cat - he is always up for more petting and loves to give kisses.... He would make a great companion to someone looking for a gentle and docile cat.” Chipper gets along well with other cats and loves people. It’s impossible to say why so many people have passed Chipper up day after day and decided not to take him home, but the most probable reason is that he is FIV+.
When Pets Alive Westchester took over, Chipper, as well as the other FIV+ cats, were transitioned into their own free-roaming cat room complete with air conditioning, cat beds, toys, and volunteers to love them. Having temporary people to pet and snuggle with, however, is just not enough. Chipper needs a home of his own.
When most people hear about FIV, they immediately think of the human equivalent, HIV, and they panic. The good news is that FIV is not a horrible death sentence. Here are some FIV facts from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah.
- The Feline Immuno-deficiency Virus is a slow virus that affects a cat's immune system over a period of years.
- FIV is a cat-only disease and cannot be spread to humans or other non-felines.
- FIV cats most often live long, healthy, and relatively normal lives with no symptoms at all.
- FIV is not easily passed between cats. It cannot be spread casually - like in litter boxes, water and food bowls, or when snuggling and playing. It is rarely spread from a mother to her kittens.
- The virus can be spread through blood transfusions, badly infected gums, or serious, penetrating bite wounds. (Bite wounds of this kind are extremely rare, except in free-roaming, unneutered tomcats.)
- A neutered cat, in a home, is extremely unlikely to infect other cats, if properly introduced.
- Many vets are not educated about FIV since the virus was only discovered 15 years ago.
- FIV-positive cats should be kept as healthy as possible. Keep them indoors and free from stress, feed them a high-quality diet, and keep and treat any secondary problems as soon as they arise.
Despite what many people think, cats with this condition can live perfectly long, happy, healthy lives.
Chipper has lived almost two thirds of his life without a home of his own. He will be 10 years old soon and still has many good years left. While he’s in no danger of being killed, he desperately wants a family to call his own. A family he can love that will love him in return. Please, open your heart and your home to Chipper. Pets Alive Westchester has two ways you can take Chipper home. The first is to adopt him. The second is to foster him for an indeterminate amount of time, and have Pets Alive Westchester pay any medical expenses.
“We want [the animals] in a good home. If we can find a match, It’s like ... a trial run,” Rydd says. “For some people that are too shy to commit to adoption [or] maybe a little nervous because he’s a senior, this is an easy way to fall in love.”
If you can help, please fill out the online application or contact Pets Alive Westchester at (914) 592-7334. If you cannot open your home to Chipper, please forward this story to someone who can. This wonderful, gregarious cat needs a home of his own, not a lifetime in the FIV+ cat room.
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